Endogenous trading bloc formation in a North-South global economy

Majority of the trading blocs to date are between similar countries, rather than between developed and developing countries. This paper provides a rationale for why trading blocs among similar countries may arise as an equilibrium phenomenon. It develops a model of an asymmetric world economy, in which there are at least four countries. The countries are differentiated with respect to their market size and market structure.

Testing ZZ boson rare decays Z→H1γ,A1γZ\to H_1 \gamma, A_1 \gamma with (g−2)μ(g-2)_{\mu}, δMW\delta M_W, and BR(hSM→Zγ)BR(h_{\rm SM}\to Z\gamma) in the NMSSM

We study the rare decay process of $Z$ boson into photon, accompanied by a CP-even or CP-odd scalar. We present the analytical delineation of the processes through the model-independent parametrizations of the new physics couplings and, finally, consider the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model to mark out the parameter space where the branching fraction can have the maximum value. As a part of the necessary phenomenological and experimental cross-checks, we aim to fit the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and $W$ boson mass anomaly through the supersymmetric contributions. We also find that the decays $Z\to H_1 \gamma, A_1 \gamma$ can serve as an excellent complementary test to $BR(h_{\rm SM}\to Z\gamma)$. In fact, to facilitate future searches, we unveil a few benchmark points that additionally satisfy the deviation of $BR(h_{\rm SM}\to Z\gamma)$ from the SM value based on the recent measurements of ATLAS and CMS. Future proposals such as ILC, CEPC, and FCC-ee are anticipated to operate for multiple years, focusing on center-of-mass energy near the $Z$ pole. Consequently, these projects will be capable of conducting experiments at the Giga-$Z$ ($10^{9}$ of $Z$ bosons) and Tera-$Z$ ($10^{12}$ of $Z$ bosons) phases, which may probe the aforesaid rare decay processes, thus the model as well. These unconventional yet complementary searches offer different routes to explore the supersymmetric models with extended Higgs sectors like NMSSM.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figure

Wake Characteristics of Wall-Mounted Finite Solid and Foam-Covered Cylinders

The wake characteristics of a wall-mounted finite foam-covered cylinder are explored by comparing the flow properties with the wake of a solid cylinder. The velocity data are acquired experimentally using planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) and numerically by large eddy simulation at Reynolds number of 35100 based on the flow depth and 13100 based on the cylinder diameter. The wake characteristics may vary significantly if the approach flow properties change and also depend on the relative height of the boundary layer thickness with respect to the cylinder height. Therefore, it is a necessity to achieve a fully developed approach flow to maintain the consistency and universality of the dataset. The fully developed flow is achieved numerically by recycling of flow variables from outlet to inlet, but it is not straightforward to achieve the fully developed flow experimentally. Therefore, experimental studies on the effects of the tripping intensity and the free surface perturbations are carried out for proper conditioning of the approach flow and to achieve a fully developed state in the open channel flume. Two flow depths at a similar Reynolds number are used for the study of tripping and the intensity of tripping is gradually increased until the flow reaches the fully developed state. The boundary layer thickness is determined based on the wall-normal distribution of Reynolds stresses and higher-order moments and this is found to be more consistent than the classical definition which suggests a wall-normal position of 99% of maximum velocity. The fully developed flow is ensured by the self-similarity and comparing the experimental data with the literature. The flow properties of the fully developed state are characterized by using uniform momentum zone analysis. Compared to the momentum zones of developing flow, the fully developed flow shows a vertical variability in the quadrant events and higher shear contribution from the sweep events in the outer boundary layer which is caused by the existence of the free surface. In the study of free surface perturbation, the effects of three different floaters are observed at a far downstream measuring station and compared with the fully developed flow. A dip in the mean velocity is noticed adjacent to the free surface and it gets larger with an increase in perturbation. It is also seen that the Reynolds shear stress becomes negative near the free surface and the dominant quadrant events shift from ejections and sweeps to inward and outward interactions due to the inverted shear layer developed from the floaters. The extent of turbulence penetration towards the bed is deeper with the increment in the level of perturbation. These floater boards are commonly used in open channel flow experiments to minimize the free surface fluctuations. However, they are found to have an unintended influence on the flow characteristics and therefore are not used in the study of the wake. The wakes of the solid and foam-covered cylinders are developed computationally and experimentally under a fully developed approach flow. The PIV data are used to validate the computational model which is further used to reveal three-dimensionality in the flow characteristics. The iso-surface of λ2 is used to depict the instantaneous vortical structures such as horseshoe vortex, arch vortex, tip vortex etc. These vortical structures are prominent for the solid cylinder but broken. In case of foam-covered cylinders, the formation of the flow structure is highly influenced by the inner solid cylinder, top plate and the foam covering. Especially, the foam structure interrupts the formation of any large flow structures and suppresses the oscillating behaviour of the wake. Consequently, Reynolds stress generation in the near-wake region of the foam-covered cylinder is found to be much less and no dominant frequency is identified in the FFT analysis. Finally, spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) modes are used to visualize the coherent structures around the body. In case of a solid cylinder, the tip vortices move downward and reattaches with the bottom wall within a short distance. However, this downstream reattachment length for the foam-covered cylinder is significantly higher since the flow through the porous foam structures lifts up the tip vortices. A difference in the reattachment pattern can also be seen on the top face of the cylinder, which occurs in a straight line for the solid cylinder but in a curved line for the foam-covered cylinder. The SPOD modes on the mid-horizontal plane depicts an asymmetric generation of side vortices due to the asymmetry in the foam structure

Prediabetes, dyslipidemia and c-reactive protein levels among stroke patients: a hospital-based study in north-east India

Background: Stroke is defined as an abrupt onset of a neurologic deficit lasting for more than 24 hours that is attributable to a focal vascular cause. Hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia are often documented in stroke patients. Elevated CRP level is independently associated with the excessive risk of ischemic stroke. Aim and Objectives were to evaluate the glycemic status, lipid profile and c-reactive protein level in stroke patients admitted in a teaching institute of north-east India.Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted in the department of medicine, Agartala Government Medical College and GBP hospital, within a period of January 2020 to June 2021. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 15 using appropriate statistical tests.Results: Among 200 patients of stroke, 50% was found to be pre-diabetic, 40% known diabetic and 10% newly diagnosed diabetic. 60% were hypertensives. Among them, 80% had ischaemic stroke and 20% hemorrhagic stroke. 70% of the patients had hypercholesterolemia, 60% had hypertriglyceridemia. 80% had raised serum LDL and 57% decreased serum HDL. Out of 200 patients, 60% was found to have raised serum CRP level. 55% of ischaemic stroke patients and 5% of hemorrhagic stroke patients had raised CRP level.Conclusions: Prediabetes and newly diagnosed diabetes are highly prevalent in patients with stroke or TIA. As the prevalence of prediabetes is growing rapidly, prediabetes might become one of the most important modifiable therapeutic targets in both primary and secondary prevention. Early detection of dyslipidemia and treatment with drugs along with dietary modifications and lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of stroke. Since, it was a cross-sectional study, these results need to be validated by further long-term prospective studies